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chemdude77 -> RE: Summer is here!!! (7/16/2006 7:26:51 PM)
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One of the threads (that seems to have disappeared from the Music Forum) was about anger.
Is it OK to be angry?
What about angry rock bands?
Was Jesus always nice? Is love synonymous with niceness?
As kids, we were told that "Christians are not supposed to be angry."
John 2:13 - 22 (RSV):
The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers at their business. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all, with the sheep and oxen, out of the temple; and he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, "Take these things away; you shall not make my Father's house a house of trade."
His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for thy house will consume me." [Psalm 69:9] The Jews then said to him, "What sign have you to show us for doing this?" Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews then said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?" But He spoke of the temple of his body. When therefore He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.
God does not "fly off the handle" or lose His composure--He is, as Nahum declares in 1:3, slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. He is a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger (Exodus 34:6)!
The history of God's people is interpreted by some to be the account of a hot-tempered, capricious, abusive deity. When we read the Torah or the Prophets, it may seem difficult to see His patience, mercy, kindness or compassion. Some can only see the earth swallowing up tents, altar fire incinerating Aaron's sons in a seemingly irrational outburst, kids getting mauled by a bear for being kids, the kingdom of David getting hammered for a simple census, and Moses getting a raw deal for whacking a rock.
Subconciously, some folks accept the old Persian heresy of the "Good Cop/Bad Cop" between the New testament and the Old Testament. Some folks assume that God the Father mellows out over time, that He becomes rather relaxed and grandfatherly around 0 AD. To some, Jesus appears as the voice of reason to keep His Father from losing His temper, and that Christ is the more reasoned voice of the Godhead. Many folks avoid the Penteteuch, the History, the Law and the Prophets. I know a man who worked as a counselor at the Harvest crusades, as well as a Bible study leader, who told me that "God sure mellowed out between the Old and New Testaments!"
From the garden to the Cross, from the Passover to Pentecost, from the tabernacle to the Temple, from the monarchy to the Roman occupation, God's rich mercy is spelled out for us! Genesis 3 starts with Adam and Eve driven away from the Tree of Life, and Revelation 22 ends with the redeemed partaking in the Tree of Life. Abraham is willing to offer his only son, and God is there to stop the knive, as God provides the sacrifice. Centuries later, God offers His only Son! The types and shadows of the Temple rituals are superceded by Christ's finished work!
From Genesis to Revelation we see that God is displeased when His name is misrepresented and dishonored.
The Lord took time to fashion scourges and to act in a focused, deliberate manner. He did not throw chairs or rocks; and He swung the whip with authority! His messages to the seven churches in Asia (REV 1-3) carry warnings of judgment and commendations. Revelation 6 talks about men hiding under rocks and caves from the "wrath of the Lamb"!
As the sinless Passover Lamb and eternal God, Jesus exercised righteous anger, anger without sin, holy indignation!
But, what about man's anger? Can fallen man ever exercise righteous indignation?
When we see others enslaved, oppressed, abused, and bullied, how should we respond?
Christians have historically worked to end child labor, child porn, sex trades in Asia, slavery, child sacrifice, cannibalism and gladiatorial contests. Abolitionist and civil rights work in the South was done by devout Christians. Anti-apartheid work was done by SA churches (sadly, other SA churches forbid blacks from taking communion [sm=fireanger.gif] ). Christians hid Jewish families from Nazi occupation troops in Holland. Christian men and women stood up against tyrants such as Bloody Mary, Hitler, Ceacescu of Romania...
And on the other side:
If we rail and rant against the decadent materialism, are we free of envy and covetousness?
When we rage against the immodesty of others, do we have issues with hidden lust?
Do we slander? Do we libel (blogs and forums make it easy to harm reputations without accountability!)
Do we show mercy, or do we laugh at others' misfortune?
Are we apathetic toward the sufferings of others, and wildly verbose when we bump our knees?
My own anger is often motivated by less than noble reasons, mainly inconvenience, impatience, having my comfort zone disturbed, etc . Human anger is often rooted in pride, envy, jealousy, selfishness, idolatry and greed -- succinctly put, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
The stakes are high for believers. Angry words will cost us relationships, jobs, and other big opportunities. And when an unbeliever knows we are professing Christians, and our rash words are out of the bag, well, God's name is dishonored.
God did not give us an option of a tribulation free life. As a believer, you do not have to pray for trials. He will send them. Even if you don't pray for patience, you will have testing. We are given the opportunity of suffering with Christ, as we will be glorified with Him.
I wonder if God makes me retake the exam when I lose control of my emotions during the test [8|]
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